66702 Blue Lightning accelerates through Whalley on April 5, 2021.

I’m guilty for choosing more than one shot from Whalley, but given the amount of times I have visited here I simply couldn’t choose just one.

This particular angle was one that I had planned for quite some time back in the summer, but it just wasn’t possible due to the foliage on the trees.

I waited and came back on a sunny spring morning, just as the branches developed their buds, meaning I could capture the outline of the Gatehouse without being obscured.

66702 Blue Lightning was booked to head the Clitheroe to Avonmouth cement, and could be heard for quite a while before arriving into view with a heavy train in tow. Whalley’s brick arches contrasting against a clear blue sky is hard to beat for me.